Lit
The second son of Flare and Burner, Lit took on a love literature from an early age. He excelled in school, but had to drop out after a few years at the age of 11 after learning basic reading, writing, and mathematics in order to help with his family’s business. Burner was a hunter and trader, but had been struggling because of the severe lack of animals on Carminite. Lit and his older brother, Coal, were taught how to use a bow. Lit, unknowingly nearsighted and seemingly unable to sit still for any amount of time, was never consistent enough with his hunts, and wound up breaking most of his arrows and scaring the animals away. After a few years of failure, it was clear Lit was more of a hindrance than anything, and he began to be excluded from the hunting trips. At age 13 Lit took on caring for his younger siblings, Sizzle and Wildfire. During his free time, Lit taught himself how to make animal traps, sending them out with Burner and Coal. He also would take on much of the skinning and preparation of the animals for market. It was also during this time Lit met Ember, a young Fire Genasi who had managed to stay in school. Lit was e namored by her and asked her to be his girlfriend. The relationship lasted two weeks. When Lit was 16, Coal got married, leaving his family behind. At this point, Lit’s sister Sizzle replaced Coal on the hunting trips, but the family business was suffering. Lit felt like if he didn’t find a better way to help his family, then the would all starve. At 19, he traded the right to his trap blueprints, along with the promise of never using them again for a plot of wasteland in the middle of the fire nation. He never really adjusted to farming life, becoming incredibly bored quickly, and often being absent minded to the point where he needed to write down how to care for basic crops a scraps of parchment. He would sometimes burn the scraps of parchment unintentionally in frustration. He told people what he was growing was agulula, but Lit had thought he would get more money from, and thus planted his several acres with the magic poppy seeds which were the most common drug on Carminite. Lit’s neighbor was a man called Explosion (later known as Bordon Lambsey). Explosion was an extremely cheerful and good natured man, but was impossible to live with, as he often set his house or crops on fire. This would sometimes spread to Lit’s crops. Explosion was such a nice guy Lit forgave him. One of these such instances got out of hand, and Lit was unable to put out the fire. His entire farm was burned down with most of his possessions. Everyone got high that day. While trapped in the burning building, a support beam fell on top of him, scarring Lit permanently across his ribcage. Lit briefly moved in with his brother Coal, his wife, Singe, and his 4 year old niece, Lamp. Lit quickly formed a strong bond with the child. Desperate to make up for the wasted year on the farm, Lit attempted to steal a large shipment of glassware on it's way from Ignit to Aeris. He was quickly caught, but refused to stand down, threatening several genasi at knife point, although no one was actually harmed. He easily talked down by a hostage negotiator and put in the holding cell in Ignit. He was later moved to Ashe for his trial, and after that, to the prison there. After only a few days in the cell, Lit began to go slightly insane from being kept in such a small area, unable to move around. He grew desperate for conversation, often trying to get the guards to talk to him about anything. On the next routine Lictor visit, Lit immediately caught the eye of one the Lictors, an Air Genasi, Draft. She extended the offer of becoming a gladiator to Lit. Desperate to see the sun again, Lit accepted without any forethought. Lit was moved back to Ignit, to the ludus gladiatorius compound where he was given some very basic instructions on how to fight. During the rest of the time, he was locked away, but being able to move around outside made a world of difference to him. To his surprise, Lit excelled in several of the first few matches he was in. For the first time in his life, his inability to keep still was an advantage, as it kept him constantly alert. Lit was also extremely good a picking out patterns in fighting styles. He began coming up with increasingly more and more creative ways of defeating his opponents, using the terrain to his advantage more than any weapon. Noticing this, Lit began to get more and more intense training from Draft. Lit was taught, dancing and acting, along with combat so to make his fighting more entertaining. It was also around this time Lit started taking the magic poppy seeds he had once tried to grow. As they were a pain suppressant they were provided by the compound. Lit would take them for the many wounds he would sustain in combat. He became increasingly popular among the public, although not to the the degree of fighters such as The Boulder. This new found popularity saved his life on more then several occasions, as the Lictors were hesitant to kill someone who was highly skilled and well liked by the crowd. Lit would have taken advantage of his position if not for the fact that he was still a prisoner unable to leave the compound. Although mostly happy, Lit did miss his family, in particular his niece, Lamp. At age 22, just after one of his many fights, Lit was stopped by a teenage Water Genasi who urged him not to fight and to try to get out of the arena. Lit brushed her off, but the following day, while in the compound, he was informed he had a visitor. Curious, he found the same Water Genasi. She introduced herself as Lady Ocean. She explained how horrible she thought the arena was and how she was trying to get as many people out of it as possible so that no one would have to die. Lit dismissed the idea, as the life of the arena was all he knew at this point. A few months later, Lit was pardoned by Lady Tide and was presented with the metal charm of a sword covered in vines, proving that he was a free man, and never would have to fight for his life again. Overjoyed, Lit traveled to Coal’s house only to find his brother hostile and unwelcoming, saying that he was not going to allow his daughter to have any contact with a killer. Lit was crushed. He walked away deciding he didn’t need his family, and that he would go back to where he felt the most comfortable, the arena. No longer a prisoner, Lit could no longer live in the ludus gladiatorius, and found a small house nearby, which he neglected most of the time. Also, not being supplied with the poppy seeds by the compound anymore, Lit had to find another way way of getting them. He met Stone, a poppy seed dealer, and quickly became friends with him, finding him extremely easy to get along with and relaxing to talk to. After a string of short lived, casual relationships, Lit reconnected with Ember. Remembering back to their childhood the two began dating again. Lit was extremely happy, and felt like he was finally getting his life back to track. The two of them adopted a red Macaw that Ember named Phoenix. When not fighting in the arena, Lit could often be found in various libraries, trying to make up for the education he felt like he’d missed. This is when he took up writing as a hobby. Although reading mostly non fiction, he wrote primarily fiction, most of it about the now-famous, Bordon Lambsey. He became so absorbed in his work that he didn’t immediately notice when Ember went missing, and when he did, he figured that she must be doing some traveling to Atmos to visit her parents, Drift and Fever. He was shocked when, upon entering the arena about a month later, he found Ember. Lit was unsure what to do, and tried to back out of the fight. He was told that both of them would be killed if either of them left. Ember burned his neck so badly that Lit could no longer wear clothes over it, but he was able to defeat her. He hoped that Ember would be spared by the Lictors, but the crowd, decided the story would be more tragic and thus make for better entertainment if one of them died. Lit crossed one of the few boundaries he had left, and killed Ember. Up until then, Lit had had been fine with gore. He lost this ability the day he killed Ember and never regained it, often throwing up at the sight of blood. Lit instantly regretted his decision, and walked away from the arena never to return. He moved from Novis to Terberis, but spent several months alone. In which time the poppy seeds he had been taking, became an addiction, as he began to take them to block out the mental pain he felt. Unsure what to do with himself, Lit remembered Lady Ocean. Now 25, Lit traveled to Nimwe where Ocean welcomed him with open arms. The two discovered the others love for learning and spent much time in the castle library. Ocean and Lit learned Common together. Ocean also began teaching him about a race of people called “humans” as well as the lyre, and in return, Lit introduced her to Stone. Ocean and Stone got on remarkably well, but the rest of Lit’s friends found her annoying. Ocean’s family did not like Lit, especially after Ocean announced that she would like to make him her full time bodyguard. Her parents, Lady Tide and Sir Current refused, leaving Lit jobless again. He remained friends with Ocean. About a year later, Lit returned to his home in Aevi one day to find Ocean in his house. She looked distressed and quickly explained that she had just escaped from her family and that the two of them needed to leave Carminite immediately. She gave Lit the Water Royal Family trident. It was the fanciest thing Lit had ever held. He wrote a note to Stone explaining on what was going on as well as Phoenix, so Stone could contact him along with a down payment, in the form of his house, on his poppy seeds. Under the cover of darkness the two left Lit’s house and made their way to the beach. All the boats had been locked away, so Ocean created a block of ice, and the two set sail from Carminite. It took three miserable weeks to get to the mainland. During this time, Lit constantly melted the ice due to his high body heat and spent most of the time trying to catch enough fish to feed the both of them. Once arriving, Ocean and Lit set out to set up trade routes to try and save Carminite.